


The Light at the Edge of the Galaxy

by ICanSeeClearlyNow



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: A Plant Wrote This, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, But he's still young - you'll find out!, College Student Katsuki Yuuri, M/M, Makkachin has Tentacles, POV Phichit Chulanont, Phichit Chulanont Is a Good Friend, Sheesh, Space Stations, Victor is a lot older than in the anime, YOI Home Zine, and no it's not a tentacle fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-09-29 09:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17201054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICanSeeClearlyNow/pseuds/ICanSeeClearlyNow
Summary: Yuuri has an ambition. He is determined to find out what happened to his hero, the genius Victor Nikiforov, who disappeared a hundred years earlier after creating the first Solar Particle Powered Faster Than Light spaceship. Yuuri's ambition will take him to the edge of the known galaxy where he will search the stars for news of Victor.Updated 13/05/2019: I'm changing the story to include another chapter, which has meant moving a large chunk of the final chapter into this chapter - so this chapter is now 2000 words longer, hence the change in updated date ;)





	1. My Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Beta read by the always wonderful [Saniika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saniika) and [Littorella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littorella)
> 
> N.B. The rating will change to Explicit when the last chapter goes up

“Yuuri? Yuuri!” Phichit slammed open the door to Yuuri’s room. He looked around, noting worriedly that a scattering of dirty clothes broke the usual regimented tidiness of the room.

He threw on a coat, bracing himself for the freezing temperatures outside and wondering for the thousandth time why on Earth NASA Home had moved their training headquarters to Detroit in 2280. Couldn’t they have stayed in Florida? It was nice and warm there; he was from Thailand, he could take the heat. No – they had to relocate to Detroit. Bloody climate change and rising sea levels. At least the climate technology had started to turn things around, and it wasn’t as dire as a hundred and fifty years ago, when it had all started to go really wrong. Anyway, he shook himself out of his regular moan and snapped a selfie with the caption “All bundled up against the weather, ready to cheer on my best bud!”

He knew where a nervous Yuuri would have headed. To one of the campus dance studios, ready to practice until he dropped. Not the best plan for the hours before the final exam, but Yuuri was one of the best sneaker-outers Phichit knew. He could always find himself a way to get into the dance studio if he felt the need, even under the eagle-eyed supervision of their tutor, Celestino.

Yuuri was exactly where Phichit expected him to be, but at least he wasn’t huddled up in a corner in the throes of a panic attack; the situation wasn’t irretrievable then. Yuuri was staring at himself in the mirrors of the studio as he stretched, one hand gripping the barre and the other gripping his ankle in a leg extension.

Yuuri’s eyes flickered to Phichit as he entered the studio, but then he went back to examining himself in the mirror. Luckily, Phichit knew Yuuri well enough not to be offended by the apparent dismissal.

“Hey, Yuuri!” He said cheerfully, waving his tablet at Yuuri. “Can I?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes at Phichit in the mirror, “Would it stop you if I said no?”

“Yuuri!” Phichit placed his hand on his chest in mock outrage. “You wound me. Of course I...wouldn’t post anything if you said you didn’t want me to.”

Yuuri tried, Phichit could see that he really did try not to laugh, but a small splutter escaped and he lowered his leg to the floor. Phichit could see him trying to hide a smile.

“Oh, by the way, I made a bet with myself that you’d forget about make-up so I brought some along.” Phichit said.

“They aren’t examining me on how I look, Phichit.”

“Maybe not, but it’ll give you more confidence when you’re up on that podium.” Phichit was already beckoning Yuuri over as he said that. Yuuri rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway and walked over. Phichit, eagle-eyed as always, noticed Yuuri flicking his eyes towards the time displayed on the wall, his nerves showing in that instant. Phichit knew that today had been preying on Yuuri’s mind for months. His friend was utterly determined to get the position that hadn’t even been advertised yet as the controller of the new array being built on the farthest reaches of known space.

Phichit kept up inane chatter as he drew eyeliner on Yuuri’s lids; all the time watching his best friend carefully.

“There, all done. Let’s get you dressed up and then selfie time!”

“Phichit.” Yuuri groaned.

“Yuuri.” Phichit echoed. “Come on, you look fantastic.” And if Phichit hadn’t realised that that ship had sailed a long time ago he would be hitting on Yuuri right now because his best friend did look amazing. His hair was slicked back and his eyes looked huge under Phichit’s ministrations. His full lips glowed with the gloss that Phichit had carefully applied.

“I’ve been really good up until now.” Phichit pouted mournfully, trying for his best impression of puppy dog eyes, knowing that Yuuri was weak for those. “Just the one, please.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes again and walked over to his bag. Waving his hand over the panel which would obscure the glass door, he pulled out the shipsuit that he needed to wear for the exam. Phichit turned around to give Yuuri privacy to change as he put the make-up back in its pack. He fiddled with his tablet to get the hovercam settings perfect as he waited.

“OK, I’m changed.” Yuuri said grumpily. “We’ve got twenty minutes to get there so hurry up.”

“I’m ready, and it’s only a five minute walk.” Phichit said, turning round. He whistled. He’d obviously seen Yuuri in the figure-hugging dark blue suit before, but with the slicked back hair and the make-up, his best friend was something else. Yuuri coloured at Phichit’s whistle and wrung his hands together.

“Oh my!” Phichit flicked his wrist to hover the hovercam over them and tapped at his tablet. “Wow! You are going to slay them Yuuri. Get yourself over here.”

Phichit fussed for a second about their positioning and then commanded the bot to start taking snaps.

~

“That one.” Phichit said, pointing at one of the pictures as they walked over to the comms building, where the examination was to take place. He was absolutely determined to distract Yuuri from worrying to the last minute.

He waited a second for Yuuri’s soft, but resigned, “OK” and posted the picture. Just tagging it with ‘WOW’. He watched for a second as the likes soared. Yuuri never realised just how much people liked him. He even had fans, although Phichit would never tell him that. He didn’t want his friend to literally die of embarrassment. Yuuri’s own social pages were an intimidating shrine to the long dead Victor Nikiforov. The few pictures that existed of the man, taken before he disappeared, were on prominent display, and the rest of the space was taken up with articles Yuuri had written about his hero and detailed research notes on the technology Victor Nikiforov had developed. When he’d first met Phichit, Yuuri had made no secret of his absolutely massive crush on the man. It hadn't taken long for Phichit to realise that no one else would ever get a chance with the sexy Japanese man, much to his own disappointment.

Realising that he’d probably been silent for too long, Phichit glanced at Yuuri who was biting his lip in anguish. He thought quickly.

“So, plans for afterwards. I called Chris earlier, and he’s up for an evening out…” Phichit rambled on, occasionally getting a response from Yuuri as they walked across the green space between the buildings. He thought his plan to distract Yuuri was somewhat successful, but as they got to the doors of the building, he could feel the anxiety radiating off Yuuri in waves. He reached out and grabbed Yuuri’s hand.

“You can do it, Yuuri.” Phichit put all the fervour he could into his voice. “You’re going to get the best marks you’ve ever received, and you’re going to impress them so much that they’ll offer you that position on the spot.”

Yuuri bit his lip and squared his shoulders. “You’re right Phichit. I’m past those days when I doubted myself. I can do this. I’ve studied for five years to do this. I’m going to be the one to find out what happened to Victor Nikiforov.” Yuuri raised his eyes and gave Phichit a look of pure determination. Phichit grinned back.

“Go Yuuri!”

~

Phichit settled into his seat. There was a small amount of seating in a viewing area above the final exam room. The examiners were sitting in the front row, and Phichit held his breath as Yuuri walked confidently to the podium set up in the middle of the room. His navy shipsuit with the fleur-de-lis design making him look like a commander of a battle fleet.

“Thank you, Mr. Katsuki.” One of the examiners spoke, their voice carrying over the room. “We have a scenario set up for you from the Moon Station. When you are ready to begin just command the computer to start.”

Yuuri looked up at the five men and women on the mezzanine and bowed. Phichit saw him take a deep breath and his voice carried clearly across the room. “Computer start.” Phichit crossed his fingers.

_Scenario number 53. Five minute preparation time started._

Yuuri raised his arms and the virtual screens rose and formed around him in a circle. Information flowed across the displays, which showed the status of the Moon Station and all the traffic that it handled. Phichit knew enough about the digital dance as they called it to know that Yuuri had just been set one of the hardest locations to deal with. The Moon Station dealt with all Earth bound traffic, both passenger and freighter. The sheer volume of information was a challenge for a team of people to handle let alone one, but this was what Yuuri had trained for. To be one of the elite few digital dancers who could process this information and program the computers as part of the dance. They were highly sought after and their skills commanded the highest salaries.

Yuuri had paused, scanning the screens and absorbing the information they presented. He would be allowed five minutes of the exam to familiarise himself with the initial setup of the scenario, which would start at the end of those five minutes. The candidates were never told what scenario they would be dealing with, as in real life they would be expected to be prepared for any eventuality, but they all knew that it would be some sort of disaster and would last for thirty minutes. They would be expected to resolve it with minimum loss of life and property. Phichit had almost stopped breathing as he watched his friend settle back, appearing to be ready for whatever the computer could throw at him. Phichit’s heart was in his mouth and so were his knuckles. Some of Phichit’s training had been spent learning the dance, but he wasn’t in Yuuri’s league, and he wanted to concentrate on communications and xenology.

_Scenario starting._

He saw Yuuri take a deep breath, and as the information flowed around him Yuuri started to dance. His precise movements sent commands to the computer to organise the traffic in and out as well as the communications between the ships. He tensed when he noticed something wrong seconds before the computer reported it.

_Rigan freighter Stars Journey has a malfunctioning portside thruster. If correction is not applied impact with Moon Station may cause damage to outer docking ring._

Yuuri spoke through the computer, communicating with the simulated captain of the freighter. Unfortunately it appeared that the universal translator wasn’t working. Phichit watched in horror as disaster upon disaster was piled upon his friend. Yuuri had to make split second decisions and send commands as fast as his body could interact with the virtual screens. He spun and twirled, commanding five screens at once, while still managing to be graceful. Phichit could almost hear music in Yuuri’s movements.

At the end of the thirty minutes, Yuuri had managed not to lose a single life on the station, and he’d managed to save the crew of the freighter. But the freighter itself was a wreck and fully half of the docking ring of the Moon Station was rubble. Yuuri brought his arms down and the screens vanished. His shoulders were heaving as he drew in deep breaths, trying to recover. His face was dripping sweat, and Phichit could see that he was close to tears.

“Thank you, Mr. Katsuki. Your results will be sent to you in twenty minutes.” One of the examiners said in a dispassionate voice. Yuuri’s shoulders fell.

Phichit launched himself from his seat, drawing frowns from the examiners. He knew he wouldn’t be allowed close enough to hear their discussion and he knew that Yuuri would need him. He rushed down to what the students referred to as 'the decompression chamber', a room with seats and showers for students to use after an examination. He burst through the door to see Yuuri sitting on a bench, his arms crossed on his knees and his head on his arms.

“That was amazing Yuuri! I’ve never seen anything like it.” Phichit knew not to hug his friend but he was jumpy with the need to comfort him anyway. So he sat down on the bench beside him. “You managed to save everybody! That’s got to count for a lot!”

Yuuri drew in a shuddering breath and then sobbed. “I...I failed Phichit. I couldn’t do it. Five years, all gone!”

Phichit placed a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder, ready to remove it if he needed to. He was lost. He’d seen Yuuri having panic attacks in the early years of their training, until the help Yuuri received from the school took effect, but he’d never seen Yuuri so thrown into the depths of despair; so heartbroken.

“Hey Yuuri, can I hug you?” As soon as Yuuri nodded, Phichit threw his arms around him and hugged tight. Phichit just carried on hugging Yuuri until the storm of Yuuri’s emotions passed. He had always thought that Yuuri’s plan to become the human operator of the new communications array on the furthest reachable star system was a terrible idea. How could anyone contemplate the idea of five to ten years on their own, with only a once yearly supply run giving them the opportunity to meet anyone. At that distance even a message would take a month to reach Earth.

“I should have a shower and get changed. I’ll have to decide what I want to do now.” Yuuri sniffed and wiped at his eyes. “I may go home for a while. I haven’t visited for a year. I really miss everyone and Vicchan.”

They both jumped when there was a ping from Yuuri’s tablet. Yuuri eyed it as if it was poisonous, and Phichit had to pick it up to pass it to him. Yuuri bit his lip and reached out with a shaky hand. Phichit watched Yuuri’s face as various emotions passed across it. Yuuri rested his head on a shaking hand, and Phichit wanted to scream.

Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore, “Well? What did they say?”

Yuuri wordlessly passed him the tablet. Phichit scanned the message and felt a spike of disappointment at the thought of losing his best friend, but buried it quickly in a surge of pride.

“Yuuuuri! You did it! Holy cow, you did it!” Phichit tapped at the tablet quickly, and Yuuri looked up with a question in his eyes. Phichit held up a finger for Yuuri to be patient, he was querying the highest mark ever achieved in the exam, and he wasn’t disappointed. “Yuuri? How do you think you did?”

“I passed and the mark is fairly good, but I can’t imagine I did that well compared to other people. The amount of damage I caused was horrific.”

Phichit was now the one who wanted to put his head in his hands. He shook his head, grinning. “Yuuri, I think you are the only person I know who could say something like that after achieving…” Phichit paused for effect, “...one of the highest marks in the history of the exam!”

Yuuri looked at Phichit with an open mouth and then held out his hand for the tablet. “Why? How?”

“Well, they want you to go to a meeting about an assignment tomorrow so I guess you’ll find out then. But tonight, we can celebrate! Come on, you deserve the most expensive cocktail I can possibly afford. Tonight we eat and we drink, for tomorrow we find out the rest of your life!” Phichit toasted an imaginary glass and Yuuri chuckled at the mangling of the famous quote.

“First my friend, we’ve got to get you recovered and looking good.” Phichit went on, “After all, there’s a whole world of men out there, panting to meet the sexiest, most devastating digital dancer of the decade.”

Yuuri spluttered and choked until Phichit took pity on him and slapped him on the back.


	2. My Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his successful exam, Yuuri was given his dream assignment at the edge of known space maintaining and using a communication array. He has been alone on the planet for five years, chasing his dream of finding the genius scientist Victor Nikiforov who disappeared with his ship 100 years ago. He didn’t realise how lonely he was, how much he missed home, until one day…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the SFW piece published in the Dom edition of the Okaeri zine. I've been sitting on this for 6 months and I'm so excited to publish it at last!
> 
> Update: This now includes 2000 words from the Love Hotel part of the story because I'm adding a chapter of pining Victor. It's only the last chapter still that will be explicit.

Yuuri groaned as the proximity alarm blared out in the silence. He covered his ears and rolled over in bed.

“Phichit, what’s the time and what’s happening,” he mumbled.

_The time is 3 am planetside. An object is approaching the array at high speed. Shields are fully functional. Waiting for instructions._

“Ugh, how long before impact.” As he asked this Yuuri was already out of bed. Only two hours of sleep...he would pay for this later. He stumbled into the fresher, feeling the tingle of the clean sweep and scents he had programmed in for his morning wake up. It was times like this when he missed his parent’s onsen back home in Japan with an ache that was almost painful.

_T minus 12 minutes and 14 seconds._

The computer’s voice was reassuringly like it’s real-life counterpart. As Yuuri grabbed his jumpsuit and dressed quickly, he felt the real Phichit encouraging him on from Earth where he was working. If the object caused damage even through the shields, then he would need to do repairs, and that meant a trip to the array in the small shuttle.

He quickly bowed to the little shrine for Vicchan set up in his quarters, and speed walked to the control centre. The bare room lit up as he approached and positioned himself on the stand in the centre, raising his arms to begin.

Around him a series of virtual screens appeared, mainly to help him focus his movements. The computer would understand his movements far quicker than spoken commands.  After all, he had ten fingers, two arms, and two legs with which he could dance, but he only had one voice. There were only a few people who could do what he did, although his self-doubt had been a problem in the first few years of his training.

He began to dance, using his whole body to command the system. His lecturer at the university had compared it to playing an old-fashioned organ and being the conductor of an orchestra at the same time. Yuuri thought it was more like dancing. The only limitation to this type of command system was the speed of his movements and the power of his brain to create the complex dance. The projections circled him for the sensors on the array, pointing towards the approaching object, control systems for the shields and the defensive lasers.

“Phichit, do we have any stats on what’s approaching?”

_Craft is of unknown origin. Two lifeforms on board. T minus five minutes._

Yuuri’s eyes opened wider. A ship with two lifeforms on board? He was no longer afraid for the array but for the lives on the ship. The tractor beam on the array wasn’t enough to slow the craft and bring it in. In fact, it was more likely to damage the ship even more and it would still crash into the shields.

_T minus four minutes._

Yuuri’s arms flew and his fingers danced as he responded to the information coming in from the screens hovering around him.

_T minus three minutes._

“I know, Phichit, I know.”

The craft wasn’t perceptibly slowing as it approached the array. Yuuri wasn’t even sure if the occupants of the craft had realised they were on a collision course. Suddenly he had an idea. He spun and leapt, information flying from his fingertips as he entered the complex algorithm.

_T minus two minutes._

He took a deep breath and waited, his whole body vibrating with nervous energy.

_T minus one minute._

With thirty seconds to go before the craft impacted the shields, the array let out a burst from the tractor beam, which had been set to push instead of pull. If Yuuri’s rapid calculations were correct, the beam should graze the craft and nudge it out of contact with the shields. If Yuuri’s calculations were perfect, the beam would nudge the craft in the direction of the only barely habitable planet in the system containing the observatory. The building that Yuuri had been the sole resident of for the last five years.

 _Impact has been avoided. New trajectory calculated. The craft will impact on HD_ _283856_ _at point 0.34220 east of current position in 6 hours and 23 minutes at current speed._

The problem of what to do to stop the craft crashing into the planet was next on Yuuri’s list.

“Phichit, give me an update on the craft’s speed and impact location every thirty minutes starting now.”

_Affirmative._

Yuuri stepped off the podium and shook out his hands and rolled his shoulders. Operating the computers on the array was always one of the best workouts. He walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and make a well-earned coffee. He had six hours to come up with a solution and the only one he had so far was to take the shuttle he used for repairs to the array and try to use the tiny tractor beam to act as a brake on the ship hurtling into the solar system and almost directly at him. But there were too many variables, it would be far too easy to send them both straight into one of the twin suns.

Thirty minutes later and still no closer to a solution, Yuuri’s raised his head off the table in astonishment as the computer spoke.

_Speed of craft 800 klicks per second, impact location unchanged._

“Phichit, what was the original speed of the craft as it approached?”

_Original speed was 1300 klicks per second._

“If the craft continues decelerating at the current rate, will the craft impact the planet at all?”

_Negative. At the current rate of deceleration, the craft will enter a geosynchronous orbit in 9 hours from now._

So, unless the craft was hostile in some way, Yuuri could relax.

“Phichit, wake me up an hour before the craft enters orbit, or if the situation changes in any way.” Yuuri would have to send a message to NASA Home before the ship arrived in case it was hostile, but he was too exhausted to run the programs now.

_Sleep well, Yuuri._

As Yuuri stumbled back to his bed, the adrenaline left him almost as quickly as it had arrived. He felt a sudden pang of homesickness. Why did he ever think it was a good idea to program the computer to sound so much like Phichit? He didn’t understand his own feelings though; why was he feeling this now when he had been fine for years? Tears rolled down his cheek as he lay on the bed. Despite his exhaustion, it still took him a while to fall asleep.

_~_

_Yuuri, the craft will enter geosynchronous orbit in one hour._

“What’s the time?” He rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear the fog from his head.

_The time is approximately 12:30 pm._

Wow, Yuuri had slept for hours. He got up and stretched, stomach rumbling in hunger.

“Phichit, has the craft tried to communicate in any way?” Surely if the lifeforms inside were conscious they would have tried to communicate. They must know that there was life around, after all, they did just nearly crash into a massive communications array.

_Negative. Would you like me to send a greeting?_

“Yes.” Yuuri wondered whether he would get a response. He shrugged and dressed in his programming suit. There was no point in worrying, there was nothing he could do about it until he had more information. He did need to send a message to NASA Home before the ship landed though.

_Incoming communication from craft now identified as “Grand Prix”. Would you like to respond?_

He had managed to dress, gulp a coffee and run the program to send the message before the computer received an incoming call. _Grand Prix? No, it couldn’t be–?_ Yuuri quickly checked his appearance. His hand shook slightly as he placed the coffee down.

“Yes, give me a screen and patch it through.”

Yuuri caught his breath when the screen projection appeared in front of him. The man on the other end was hauntingly familiar, the holograms of his younger face were all over Yuuri’s sleeping quarters in the observatory.

“Victor Nikiforov,” he breathed.

“Hello!” The silver-haired man waved back at him enthusiastically. “You speak English and you’re human I assume! But how do you know my name? And what’s yours?”

“I...I’m Katsuki Yuuri and you’re famous!” Yuuri mentally face-palmed.

Victor Nikiforov laughed.

“I am? That’s interesting. Really? But on to important things. I can see where you’re located on the planet. Requesting permission to land the Grand Prix?” Victor smiled and that smile looked like a promise.

Yuuri probably shouldn’t grant the permission, but he was going to anyway. “Permission to land granted, Mr Nikiforov. Welcome to HD 283856.”

“HD 283856? What a boring name.” Victor stared at Yuuri’s image for a second and then winked. “But it’s a lot less boring with you on the planet, Mr Katsuki Yuuri. I shall see you soon.” His blue eyes sparkled and just as he closed the communication channel down Yuuri noticed a strange brown thing peering over Victor’s shoulder, obviously the other lifeform, and not human either.

Yuuri knew he was blushing a deep, deep red. After five years on his own, the first person he meets who he wants to impress (the crew of the once yearly supply ship didn’t count) is flirting with him. Plain, boring Yuuri who thinks that the planet is, in fact, more interesting than him. He raised his hands and pressed them into his face so he could scream into them. _Victor Nikiforov_! Whom no one had seen for a hundred years. Why here, why now, and why didn’t he look much older than when he had left? What if it wasn’t Victor Nikiforov? But why would some lifeform want to impersonate a famous human? The questions spun around in Yuuri’s mind until the computer interrupted.

 _Craft is landing at point 0.1 klicks from the observatory_.

Yuuri jerked out of his daze and he ran to the doors, pulling on the protective gear. Outside at this time of day was hot, very hot, with both suns high in the sky. You did _not_ want to be outside for very long. He had to get Victor, or whoever it was, inside as quickly as possible.

~

Yuuri stopped just outside the door as the cloud of dust cleared from the craft’s vertical landing. The ship was definitely the one Victor Nikiforov had left earth in all those decades ago: Yuuri had the posters. Slightly egg-shaped but with an obvious nose and tail end for atmospheric travel. Yuuri saw the pictures of the designs and he would have loved to see the ship in full sail when it had the collectors displayed between systems riding the particle waves. It would be beautiful.

The door of the craft slid open and Victor Nikiforov stepped out. His figure was tall, taller than Yuuri, and he appeared to be dressed in a figure-hugging ship-suit with geometrical designs patterned in pink, black and silver running over it.  His ship had obviously reported the temperature outside because he was wearing - wait a minute - were they sunglasses? Yuuri let out a small chuckle. They wouldn’t be any protection against the twin suns. He needed to get the explorer inside as quickly as possible.

“Over here! Quickly, it’s far too hot to be outside.” Yuuri shouted, the heat drying his mouth instantly.

Victor waved and disappeared inside the ship for a minute. Reemerging with a...an umbrella? This was crazy! He was holding something in his arms and juggling the umbrella with one of his hands. But he did walk quickly towards Yuuri who ushered both him and the brown _thing_ in his arms inside the observatory.

~

They both heaved a sigh of relief when the cold air inside hit them. Yuuri started to remove his protective gear and Victor closed the umbrella with difficulty. He was still cradling something carefully in his arms. He shifted the object in his arms so he could hold it with just one arm and took off his sunglasses. He flipped his long fringe back and winked at Yuuri. “My saviour!”

“I...er,” Yuuri stopped as his brain ground to a halt. He finally managed to close his mouth and then it took a further effort to form words longer than one syllable. “Hi! Er...what’s that you’ve got in your arms?” Well maybe not longer than one syllable, but a sentence at least.

“This is Makkachin. Isn’t she adorable?” Victor tucked a finger under what was apparently the face of the animal and lifted it to look at Yuuri.

Yuuri’s eyes grew wide and he swallowed as he was faced with, well, what looked like a massive furry spider judging from the number of eyes around its face. His jaw dropped as the creature moved out of the tight bundle it had wrapped itself in and several legs emerged.

“It’s a spider?” Yuuri squeaked, trying not to crawl backwards into the wall of the reception area.

“Are you afraid, Yuuri?” Victor nudged _Makkachin,_ who crawled up Victor’s chest and onto his back. A set of black eyes looked at Yuuri over Victor’s shoulder framed by a pair of legs clinging to Victor’s suit. Yuuri realised that this had been what he had seen in the contact with the ship. He had to admit that the sight was cute if only he could get over the whole giant spider thing.

“I...a little? I’ve just never seen a spider quite that big.”

“She’s not a spider, she’s an Antusian Tark-Narl.”

“A what?” Yuuri couldn’t believe his first conversation with Victor consisted of him making stupid comments and only speaking in words of one syllable. Victor repeated the name, slower this time.

“Are you alright, Yuuri?” A light touch on his forehead. Victor sounded concerned, his voice coming from much closer. Yuuri found that he was staring up into Victor’s face, which was almost close enough for them to kiss. He made a gargling sound in his throat and stepped back.

“I...I will be, it’s just...it’s been a long day.” Yuuri wrenched his brain back into line. “Would you like a drink?”

“I would love a drink.  Makka will have blood, of course.” Victor looked at Yuuri seriously.

“I...I...blood? I’m not sure...I mean...what? But...how–” Yuuri stopped when he saw the shit-eating grin spreading across Victor’s face.

Yuuri turned around to walk to the kitchen area, furious with himself for falling for it and furious with Victor blasted Nikiforov for teasing him. The idiot would get on well with Yuuri’s sister Mari, the bane of his 10 year old self’s existence. Then he realised that he was mentally bad-mouthing the famous Victor Nikiforov, inventor of the first SPPFTL drive, and turned around to apologise.

“I’m sorry,” Victor said before Yuuri could say anything. “I couldn’t resist, your face was a picture. I apologise Yuuri, but you’re the first human I’ve seen in a long time and my default is to try humour.”

Yuuri found himself smiling sadly while still walking away from Victor. “What would you like? I have plain water or various teas from Earth. I even have some Eridani Stralka.”

“Tea!” Victor’s voice lifted in joy. “Earth tea! Any variety will do. I’ve missed it so much! Which one is your favourite?”

“I tend to have Aracha, which is a green tea. But seriously, what _will_ Makkachin eat?” Yuuri finally turned round to face Victor after pulling tins out of the cupboard. He had a functioning replicator, which he used most of the time, but for special occasions, he brewed his tea properly.

“I apologise again,” Victor’s face was serious, “Makka does generally eat meat, but she’s not fussy. She couldn’t be fussy on a voyage like ours.”

“Don’t worry, I can program the replicator to produce whatever she wants.” Victor told Yuuri what she needed and then watched in interest as Yuuri typed in the program for the minerals and special compounds Makkachin required in her diet and as soon as the food formed on the plate, Makkachin seemed to come to life and moved down Victor’s arm.

Yuuri was gradually recovering from his surprise at the thought of just who he had invited in for a drink. He acknowledged that Victor Nikiforov may have been a genius, but he had a dreadful sense of humour. Shaking his head and mentally realigning the image he had of his idol, Yuuri paid more attention to the creature making its way towards the plate of meat. Now that he wasn’t so shocked Yuuri could see that she wasn’t so much like a spider, but her movements were more like an Earth octopus. She was graceful and looked peculiarly, incredibly cuddly.

Victor noticed him watching the Tark-Narl. “She’s kept me sane. When I left Earth, I didn’t think I had a home, but I’ve spent so many years travelling, visiting other systems. I found myself longing to come back to Earth, to see St. Petersburg again.” Victor paused and as Yuuri turned to look at him, he found Victor staring at Makkachin with a sad look in his eyes.

He turned to Yuuri and gave a quick smile, “But tell me about yourself. I don’t know what you’ve been through out here and why you’re even here.  Are you here all on your own?”

Yuuri found himself spilling his history to the silver-haired explorer. How he had looked up into the stars for years. How he had heard the legend of the famous genius Victor Nikiforov and he wanted to be a part of the space legend, too. How he had left home at a young age, fought his way into the academy, learned the digital dance as they called it and graduated as one of the most skilled digital programming artists in his year. He’d selected the post the furthest he possibly could away from the known systems on this relatively uninhabitable planet, because it may bring him closer to finding out what had happened to Victor Nikiforov. He had never believed the official conclusion that Victor had died in testing his revolutionary ship.

“I used to think that being out on the far reaches of the galaxy would be exciting and I fought my way through my education and the training, but now I look at where I am and how lonely I am and I wonder if I did the right thing.”

He told Victor how he hadn’t seen his home for five years. Five long years in which his dog Vicchan had died. He received a message packet from NASA Home which contained notes from his parents once a month, along with all the information he needed for the job. His mother always looked cheerful and talked about the town and local residents he knew. The latest video had been taken in the main room of the onsen and everyone he knew was there. They had all got together to wish him Happy Birthday. The triplets were now old enough to demand that he send them a video of what it was like on HD 283856 and they also wanted one of him doing the digital dance, because Minako had told them so much about the new technology and they were the nosiest six year olds he had ever come into contact with.

By the time Yuuri finished his story, the tea was made and they were sitting at the table looking at the view of the rocky terrain outside.

“Wow! I honestly didn’t think that my designs would have that much impact.” Victor stared into his tea. “How long does it take for a message to reach here from Earth?”

“Well, they have improved on technology over the last hundred years, and your designs were credited with a lot of that improvement, so it now only takes three days to send a signal either way. A ship the size of yours on new technology would probably take a month to get to Earth from here.”

“Hmm, I’d like to see those improvements.” Victor winked at Yuuri, “I bet they’re nothing on the improvements _I’ve_ made to the design. I ran a few calculations after I woke up and it will probably take me three days to get to Earth from here.”

“Three days!” Yuuri squeaked and then coughed in embarrassment. “So...er, can I ask where you’ve been and why you left in the first place?”

“I didn’t really have a home.” Victor gave Yuuri an obviously fake smile. “I grew up with some remote family members. I buried myself in books and because people saw me as a weirdly intelligent child, they only ever talked to me about the work I was doing. I was bored and lonely, and growing increasingly depressed. If I was going to be lonely, I might as well be lonely for real, so I built my ship and left.”

“You _just_ built a Solar Particle Powered Faster Than Light ship and left?” Yuuri was having trouble getting his head around the concept of Victor _just_ building a ship that was so many years ahead of its time. It was thanks to Victor making the blueprints of his engine design public that Yuuri was even here today on the edge of the galaxy.

“Well, I was bored and depressed, so I thought I might as well be bored and depressed somewhere interesting.” Victor’s voice became sultry. “And it’s brought me to you.”

Yuuri scooted his chair backwards, his eyes widening slightly. “But...but, how are you not old?” There was a moment of silence, Yuuri blushed scarlet when he realised how that sounded. “Sorry, sorry, that was really rude of me.”

Victor made a shocked face and quickly pulled his bangs down so he could see his hair. “Oh no! Is it starting to go thin?”

Yuuri barely suppressed a snort of laughter. Victor was still as handsome as he was in the last holograph taken of him before he disappeared. In fact, with his shorter hairstyle and older build, he was far more handsome than the young man Yuuri had fallen for all those years ago when he first heard the legend.

“Well, cryogenics had been used for years to haul the long distances between star systems without the ship’s crew dying of old age before they got there, so I slept for most of it. The system would wake me up before we came to a solar system to explore. Of course, I found other species, some friendly, some not so friendly. So the ship has considerably improved over the years and then there was the Antusians.” Victor stopped and smiled at Makkachin who was still clinging onto Victor’s shoulder.

“They discovered regeneration technology, but unfortunately even with that their people were dying out.” Victor looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Well, it turned out that the regeneration technology was the cause of their reproductive problems. The strange alien,” Victor pointed at himself and grinned, “was able to persuade their leaders when many of their scientists had failed. They gave me Makkachin as a thank you.”

“So, you…” Yuuri trailed off.

Victor quirked an eyebrow at him and Yuuri blushed.

“I mean, er, did you try this regeneration technology?” Yuuri gasped at his rudeness and rushed on, his words tumbling over each other in his haste, “I’m sorry, that’s very personal. I shouldn’t have asked, it’s just that it’s been a long time and you look fantastic.” Yuuri clapped his hands over his mouth at that point to stop the words spilling.

Victor’s lips twitched. “I did try the regeneration technology Yuuri,” he said solemnly. “By the time I reached the Antusian system, I was nearly seventy years old. I thought I’d never see Earth again and I would die alone. So I leapt at the chance to get home. I had long ago given up any idea of having children so the risks didn’t weigh much with me. So,” Victor’s eyes sparkled with amusement, “how old do I look?”

Yuri laughed nervously, “You can’t expect me to answer that?”

“Oh, but I do, Yuuri.” Victor crooned, crowding into Yuuri’s space and tilting Yuuri’s chin up with one hand. “I want to know what you think. After all, you came to the edge of known space, all for me.”

Yuuri swallowed, totally caught up in the force of Victor’s personality and piercing blue eyes. He was completely helpless, enthralled until he froze when he felt something climbing up his arm. He barely restrained himself from jumping away and yelling, realising that it was Makkachin. Victor let go of Yuuri and stepped back.

“Wow! You must be special, she hasn’t approached anyone in any of the stops we’ve made since leaving Antusia. She’s always been really shy.”

Yuuri looked at the multi-eyed, furry monster hugging his arm and reached his other hand up to stroke her. He remembered Vicchan’s fur with a pang.

“She likes her tentacles scratched like this,” Victor gently scratched just below the joint between her body and a tentacle and a strange rumbling sound came out of Makkachin. “See?  She’s purring.”

Yuuri was enchanted and scratched as requested on another of Makkachin’s tentacles. The rest of the tentacles gripped tighter around Yuuri’s arm and the creature’s body sank into his bicep, purring so much that Yuuri’s arm was vibrating. He looked up at Victor. “She’s amazing. I...I think I’ve fallen in love with her.”

“And here I was hoping you’d fall in love with her owner.” Victor pouted and then grinned at Yuuri’s shocked expression.

“Victor, we’ve only known each other for a couple of hours!” Yuuri tried not to move too much, not wanting to disturb the clinging, sleepy Tark-Narl, but he slowly backed away.

Victor moved forward as Yuuri moved back, “Yuuri, I’ve known I was in love ever since I first saw your face on the screen after I woke up.”

Yuuri put out his free hand to stop Victor advancing. “No, Victor. You’re just looking at the first human you’ve seen for a hundred years. I’m nothing special. As soon as you go back to Earth, you’ll forget all about me.”

Victor’s face fell. “That could never happen,” he breathed. “I have travelled and seen so much beauty and you are the first being I’ve seen in all that time that I wanted to hold on to, that I wanted to stay by my side.”

Yuuri’s breath hitched. He felt tears coming into his eyes as Victor Nikiforov, _the_ Victor Nikiforov begged him to stay by his side.

“But I shouldn’t pressure you,” Victor backed away. “Just, tell me how to convince you that I speak the truth.”

Yuuri shook his head, “I don’t know. I’ve always known that my anxiety makes me believe I’m not worthy, so I really don’t know. I might never know. Could you live with that, Victor?”

“Just allow me to prove to you that I mean it. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.” Victor reached out his hand and took Yuuri’s. He pulled it towards him and placed a kiss in Yuuri’s palm. “Let that be my promise.”

Yuuri closed his fingers over the kiss and brought his hand to his chest, eyes wide and face shaken.

“I...I need time. Can you give me that, Victor?”

“Of course Yuuri, we can take all the time you need. I’ve waited for a hundred years to find the love of my life, what’s a few weeks longer?” Victor smiled reassuringly as he said this and Makkachin hugged Yuuri’s arm tighter. Yuuri felt a warm ache in his chest. A feeling of comfort and relaxation. The feeling that being at home gave him.

~

Victor bounced around the observatory, grinning like a little boy. He asked Yuuri both intelligent and insane questions on both his work and his life on the planet. “I’ve been asleep for the last five years of travelling. Away from Earth for over a hundred years. I want to know what’s changed!”

Had it really been only two hours ago that Yuuri’s comfortable, if lonely life, had been shaken up with the almost crash landing of the Grand Prix, the first SPPFTL* ship, containing one Victor Nikiforov. His lifelong obsession with the man now behaving like an overexcited puppy right in front of him resulted in Yuuri's total confusion. So he buried himself in what he knew, like this observatory and the communications array. He escorted Victor on a tour of the building, hugging Makkachin. Reluctantly giving her back when Victor demanded that Yuuri show him the way he programmed the array, intrigued by Yuuri’s description of the intricacies of the movements involved.

Yuuri shrugged out of his comfy jacket and Victor whistled inappropriately at the tightly-fitting programming suit Yuuri was wearing. Yuuri immediately turned pink. “I had to send a message off to let them know there was a ship incoming in case something happened. I should send another to let them know that everything is fine and that you’ve come back. I also need to reverse the broad beam to get it to send faster.”

“Wait! Don’t mention my name, I’d rather they didn’t know.” Victor held a hand up.

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” Yuuri stepped onto the podium and looked back at Victor over his shoulder, “You should stand back, out of the way of the screens.”

Yuuri raised his hands, bringing the projections up. His fingers danced across the virtual screens as he twisted and spun. He was one of only a rare few people who could use so many screens at once. His arms flickered and he spun creating the magic that ran through the system. Yuuri sent his message, just informing NASA Home that the ship was friendly, that contact was continuing and they would hear again in a week. He finished with his arms high, panting. He slowly brought them down, closing down the projections around him, and nervously looked at Victor.

Victor’s hands were over his mouth and his eyes were sparkling. The effect was somewhat ruined by Makkachin, who was on top of Victor’s head also peering at Yuuri. Yuuri spluttered as a laugh bubbled out.

Victor raised his eyes and shrugged. “I know, she cramps my style.” He smiled, and Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat. “But Yuuri, that was amazing! Tell me how it all works. I want to know everything!”

“Victor! I studied for 5 years to understand how to do this. Even you aren’t going to pick it up that quickly.” Yuuri stepped off the podium shaking his head.

“Yuuri, we’ll have all the time in the world when I come back after visiting home.” Yuuri stopped dead and his mouth fell open at Victor’s words. Victor looked at Yuuri from under his long fringe, “Unless you don’t want me to come back?”

Yuuri nearly tripped forwards in his haste to reassure Victor. “No! I mean yes! I want you to come back. You promised to stay with me and never forget me.” Yuuri’s fist clenched over his palm where Victor had placed a kiss as he made that promise.

Yuuri brought his fist up to his chest and then reached for Victor’s hand. “I want to make you a promise too.” Yuuri turned Victor’s hand over and placed a kiss in the palm. “Let this me my promise to you, that I will never stop trying to be worthy and I will never stop believing in you.”

Victor’s eyes were wide as he corrected Yuuri. “In us, Yuuri.”

Yuuri felt his heart clench and his throat tighten at Victor’s words and he croaked slightly as he repeated, “In us, Victor.”

They stayed like that for a long moment, before separating reluctantly.

“You...when you go back home, you’ll get an amazing welcome on Earth. You’ll be a celebrity.” Yuuri felt his heart clench in his chest at the thought of Victor going back to Earth. The media would go crazy.  Not only was one of the most famous historical scientists alive, but he was young and handsome. Some gorgeous person would soon catch his eye and they’d live a life of domestic bliss in St. Petersburg. Yuuri thought of the promise he’d just made with guilt.

He then saw himself alone in the observatory for years and tears started to well up inside. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home so much it hurt. Stop! He had to stop thinking like this. Yuuri became aware that Victor was beginning to look worried and forced a smile to his face. It was the hardest thing he’d done for the last five years.

Victor grimaced. “I’m not sure I want to be a celebrity, Yuuri. I just need to see home again. I’m aware that the people I knew will have died.” Victor obviously noticed the distress on Yuuri’s face at that statement and hurried on, “Oh don’t worry, I never had any close family. I really miss the Neva and the places I knew.”

In the end, they agreed that Victor would stay with Yuuri for a week until Yuuri had promised to send another message. Victor could learn about the current state of Earth and what Yuuri did and then he would continue on to see his home again. No matter how many times Victor promised to return and Yuuri said he believed him, there was an inner doubting voice that Yuuri couldn’t completely ignore.

The week passed by too quickly for Yuuri. They danced together in the mornings. They walked along the multicoloured seashore in the evenings when the temperature dropped enough to be pleasant outside. Victor watched Yuuri command the array when necessary and was breathless every time. They discussed the current politics on Earth and Victor weaved magical tales of his journeys out into the deepest reaches of the galaxy.

Their morning dances got closer and closer, until on the day before Victor was due to leave, their dance came to an end with Yuuri in Victor’s arms, held close, their noses almost touching. Yuuri was breathing fast with the exercise and there was a sheen of sweat glistening on Victor’s face. Yuuri wanted to close the distance to Victor’s mouth and his lips opened involuntarily. Victor’s breath seized and then Yuuri was pulling away, wiping his hand down his face.

“Er, I...er should.” Yuuri couldn’t seem to form a proper sentence and turned away, his feelings overwhelming him. Victor grabbed Yuuri’s hand.

“Yuuri! I just realised that I haven’t shown you  _ Grand Prix _ yet. Come and have a tour. I need to make sure everything’s ready for tomorrow anyway.” When Yuuri turned back, Victor’s face was flushed but smiling.

Relieved at the change in subject, Yuuri agreed readily. Victor opened the door to the home he’d had for the last hundred years and Yuuri couldn’t believe how comfortable and spacious the small ship was. The ship that brought him to the system had been full of supplies for the various planets en route to HD 283856 as well as the ones Yuuri would need. The quarters were tiny and barely livable. This was luxury in comparison. He avidly absorbed all the technical information Victor threw at him and they spent the rest of the evening watching the twin suns set, speculating about future journeys they could make. Yuuri eventually fell asleep on Victor in the middle of a sentence.

~

Yuuri felt heavy the next morning as if overnight a weight had settled on his shoulders. He had not felt alive like he had this last week for years. When he groggily tried to get up he realised that the weight was Victor's body wrapped around him with Makkachin asleep on the pillow by Yuuri’s shoulder. As Yuuri moved they stirred and Victor gripped Yuuri tighter.

“Victor? What happened last night?” Yuuri mumbled. “I need to get up.”

Victor raised himself up on one elbow. “You fell asleep on the sofa last night and when I carried you to bed, I...I couldn’t leave you Yuuri.” He brushed his fringe out of his face and looked guilty. “The last night together, for weeks, maybe.”

Yuuri paused and then lifting himself up too, planted a quick kiss on Victor’s cheek. He scrambled out of bed before he could embarrass himself any further. As he dived into the bathroom a backwards glance gave him the image of Victor with his mouth open, red staining his cheeks, staring after Yuuri.

~

It seemed like only minutes to Yuuri, even though the clock indicated that several hours had passed before they were at the door. Makkachin was clinging to Yuuri’s shoulder and he was reluctant to move her off.

They stopped and Victor turned to Yuuri with tears in his eyes. “Come with me, Yuuri? Come home with me.”

“I...I can’t Victor. I can’t break my contract, I’ll never get another chance like this.” Tears came to Yuuri’s eyes, he felt torn. But he had only known Victor in person for a week. How could he up and leave on just a week’s acquaintance? He wanted to love Victor in the same way that Victor said he loved Yuuri but he just couldn’t risk it. He’d been on his own for too long. His ability to judge other people was probably totally gone. He couldn’t believe that Victor wouldn’t grow tired of him in a short while and what would Yuuri do then? He’d trained and studied for years for this opportunity, he couldn’t throw it away, he couldn’t.

“I wish I could Victor, more than anything.” Yuuri stepped back. “But I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Victor moved closer to Yuuri, so close that he was looking down into Yuuri’s face. He reached out a hand and gently hooked a finger under Yuuri’s chin. Yuuri was completely frozen, the power of Victor’s blue eyes held him in thrall. Victor brushed his thumb gently along Yuuri’s lower lip and he forgot how to breathe. “Then I shall see you soon, Yuuri. Wait for me.”

Yuuri surged forward and pressed his mouth to Victor’s. There was a moment of stunned inaction and then Victor was kissing him back. Victor’s arms came around Yuuri’s waist, then slid down to hold his hips and pulled Yuuri in close. Yuuri gasped and broke away.

Victor let his hands fall away and stepped back. “Yuuri?”

“I…” Yuuri eyes were wild. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been wanting to kiss you for days, Yuuri.” Victor gripped Yuuri hand. “Wait for me, Yuuri. I’ll come back for you.”

~

Yuuri could feel Victor’s touch on his lips for days afterwards. He cried into his pillow at night, his chest aching with a loneliness he’d never felt when he thought about his family and his home. The days, which progressed into weeks, were the loneliest Yuuri had ever been in his entire life. The silver-haired genius had dropped into Yuuri’s comfortable existence, shaken everything up, and then left taking Yuuri’s heart with him. Yuuri didn’t know what he wanted any more. He lived for the times he danced with the array, but it felt like the dance of The Little Mermaid, as if knives were piercing his feet.

His evening walks were even lonelier now without Victor’s innocuous chatter. He drafted his letter of resignation several times and every time deleted it. What was he planning to do? Chase Victor to Earth with the in-system shuttle? It would take him a year to get there. Victor was probably enjoying the best hospitality that Earth had to offer, being fawned over by the media and politicians alike. He’d probably forgotten what Yuuri even looked like. The days started to blur together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Next Chapter: Victor returns home. How will he cope? Will he miss Yuuri? Will his home be what he thinks?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on Tumblr [@narcissuspseudonarcissus](https://narcissuspseudonarcissus.tumblr.com/) and Twitter [@daffy_dsoh](https://twitter.com/daffy_dsoh) if you want to know more about my projects.


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